Staff Handbook

(AHRMS Policy Manual 200-1.3; Governor's Policy Directive #5)

A governor's policy directive requires all state offices to be open for business between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. However, department administrators may establish other working hours, so long as all full-time employees work a forty-hour work week. At the University, work hours for most full-time employees are from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with one-half hour for lunch. Some departments require different work schedules. Most University offices are kept open until 5:00 and do not close for lunch, so flexing of schedules may be required. Your department head or supervisor will inform you about normal work hours for your department and for your individual position.

You and your supervisor may agree to a work week with a time schedule that differs from the regular daily schedule if it serves both your needs and those of the University. The schedule must not create a pattern of overtime work or cause undue hardship for your work unit. Any flex-time agreements that you make must be put in writing and be signed by you and your supervisor.

(Fayetteville Policies and Procedures 403.1; Universitywide Administrative Memorandum 440.8; Federal Fair Labor Standards Act - Public Law 99-150 of 1986; Arkansas Code Ann. §19-4-1612; AHRMS Policy Manual 110)

Only non-exempt employees receive credit for overtime work. (See Section 2.4, Exempt and Non-Exempt Employees, for definitions.) If you are a non-exempt employee and you work more than 40 hours in any work week, you will accrue compensatory time at a rate of one and one-half hours for every hour of work performed in excess of 40 hours.

If you are non-exempt, and therefore eligible for overtime, you should never work more than 40 hours in any work week without the prior approval of your department head. An overtime request form can be found on the Human Resources web site.

Overtime is referred to in the BASIS leave accounting system as extra time. Your department leave representative will record any hours in excess of 40 you work in each work week as extra time, and you will be credited with one and one-half hours of compensatory time for every hour over 40 that you actually work. (Annual leave time and sick leave time are not time you actually work, and University holidays are usually not time you actually work.) Extra time must be approved by the person authorized to do so for your department, usually the department head. You may use any accrued compensatory hours as leave, at a time when it is convenient for your department. You may use compensatory time, until the balance is depleted, before using annual leave. You may also use your compensatory time in lieu of sick leave. Compensatory time must be earned before it can be used.

If it creates a hardship for your department to give you compensatory time off, your department head may approve monetary compensation for the overtime which you have worked. You will be paid at one and one-half times your regular rate of pay for each hour over 40 which you have worked in any work week. Overtime pay is generally discouraged. Arkansas law states: "It is hereby declared to be the policy of the State of Arkansas that overtime pay for state employees is the least desirable method of compensation for overtime work." When overtime is unavoidable, it is to be managed in the most efficient and economic manner possible. Your department may require you to use any accumulated compensatory time, at its convenience, to avoid cash payments. If you transfer to another department within the University or change from a non-exempt to an exempt position, you must either use or be paid for all of your accrued compensatory time before the change in position occurs.

The rules and regulations set out by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act apply to overtime. They include the definitions of exempt and non-exempt employees, the requirements for compensatory time or pay, and other related requirements. The Fair Labor Standards Act limits the amount of compensatory time most employees can accrue to 240 hours. Employees who work at least some of the time in a public safety activity, such as fire protection or law enforcement, in an emergency response activity, or in a seasonal activity, such as farm work, may accumulate up to 480 hours of compensatory time. Any overtime accrued beyond these limits must be compensated with overtime pay, at a rate of one and one-half times the regular rate.

If you must be absent from work for any reason, you are responsible for notifying your department within the first hour of your regularly-scheduled time for reporting to work. Your department has the option of requiring earlier notification. If you do not notify your department that you will be absent, or have someone notify the department for you if you are not able to, your absence will be considered unauthorized and may result in disciplinary action.

(Fayetteville Policies and Procedures 210.0, 211.0; AHRMS Policy Manual 200-1.5; Governor's Policy Directive #7; Act 835 of 2003)

It is the policy of the University to remain open regardless of weather conditions. You are expected to make your own determination about whether to attempt to come to work. You should make every attempt to get to work within the bounds of your personal safety.

If inclement weather disrupts normal routing during the early morning, and an inclement weather day is officially declared, you will be given credit for a full day's attendance if you arrive within two hours of your normal starting time. If you arrive later, or do not come to work, you will be charged annual leave for the full amount of time of your absence. With the approval of your supervisor, you may use leave without pay instead of annual leave. This will be considered an excused absence. You are responsible for notifying your supervisor if you do not come to work because of weather.

If severe and unexpected conditions force a decision to close offices and classrooms, the chancellor will instruct University Relations to notify regional media.  Information will be available on the University's web site: http://uark.edu, through the RazALERT emergency communications system: http://emergency.uark.edu and on local radio and television stations.

If your position performs functions that must go on, regardless of the weather, you may be designated as "essential personnel," and will be expected top report to work even when the University is closed. Your department will notify you of its specific requirements for essential personnel.

Members of the teaching, research, administrative, and extension staffs are encouraged to attend professional meetings, when attendance is beneficial to both the employee and the University. Brief leaves from official duties may be granted by your department head for attendance at such meetings when circumstances permit. The University will reimburse you for part of the travel expenses when travel funds are available and to the extent allowed by University travel regulations. Applications for leave and for travel allowances in connection with attendance at professional meetings must be approved in advance. If you are a non-exempt employee, Human Resources can provide information about Fair Labor Standards Act provisions for travel time.